Dead of Winter
by MarsRover
Summary: Reposted. Zombie AU. Post S1. What do you do when the night is darkest and you can't find the light? Orange and Dead of Winter boardgame crossover.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters.

 **Dead of Winter**

The Beginning of The End

 _Survival comes first, sentiments later. What are you willing to sacrifice, for ambition, power, love, or to just be a little higher on the food chain?_

Ever since recorded time, people have always fought over religion. A reason for too many wars and too many deaths, like death was a sign of conversion and on a cold Christmas night, Piper Chapman was faced with this dilemma. Conversion or death.

"You ain't worthy of God's love. You ain't worthy of nobody's love. So I think it's time...that you die."

She barely registers the words out of the filthy mouth of that psycho hillbilly Jesus freak, Pennsatucky, she'd been out to get her for days. _You ain't worth nobody's love._ The gash on her arm begins to throb as the anger inside her boils and her heart pumps blood and adrenaline. So many things had gone wrong in so little time. _You die._

"Nooo!" A violent hoarse screeching sound exits from her throat.

In two seconds Pennsatucky hit the ground, like a block of bricks falling from the sky and landing on her head. An angel...of death. 

… … …

As the singing subsided, Alex tries to slip out of the makeshift theater of Litchfield Penitentiary. An unsettling feeling had come over her as her emerald eyes had caught sight of a familiar blonde head of hair leaving before the end of the nativity and a certain angel of God wasn't singing the Ave Maria with the cast on stage.

"Inmate! Where do you think you're going? You're out of bound." A voice called out before she reached the doors. She turns around to find CO-Bennett and as she was about reply a scratching sound came from the officer's radio.

"All officers...entrance...now." Alex could only make out a few words before a female voice resounded throughout the room, "Inmates please return to your bunks immediately. Count will be in twenty."

"Sir, I saw Chapman come out before the end of the show. I'll just get her incase she didn't get the announcement," she says to the officer. Alex Vause could charm and lie to get her way. "I'll keep her out of trouble officer Bennett," said a familiar voice a few strides away from her. She raises an eyebrow at Nicky as Bennett walks away to attend to the radio call, waiting for some kind of explanation from her crazy maned friend.

"I smell dyke drama," she says and shrugs.

Alex nods in reply, allowing Nicky to follow her. Partly because she wasn't sure she wanted to handle Piper alone, the fear of the possibility of fall back into her merry-go-round, she swore up and down she wouldn't anymore, if they did end up talking. But she couldn't well leave Piper with the meth head bible basher. She wasn't stupid, she knew Tucky was out to get her ex-girlfriend, prison after all, didn't have shit on Twitter. The guilt has built up since she had Nicky's fingers beneath her waistband and turning Piper away. However, unlike the WASPy princess Piper Chapman, Alex was no runner. No, she faced her shit and took pride in it. Life never gave her the time to just sit on her butt blaming others when her life sucked. So here she was facing her problem behind those metal double doors. 

… … …

All she could see was red, as her knuckles broke skin and bone. Only when she was falling backwards did she realize a pair of arms wrapped around her middle and a hand pushing her back from the punching bag she was turning Tucky into.

"Jesus Christ, Piper! Shit," a raspy voice from behind her. Unmistakable. Alex.

"Holy shit, Chapman…" Nicky says, as she tries to assess Pennsatucky. Suddenly, the rush of memories hit you and the reality of you actions sink in.

"Fuck. Is she okay?! Is she breathing?" They could charge her with manslaughter for this. Move her to SHU for months. Or worse max.

"She's unconscious but alive," says Nicky as she checks the pulse and breathing, "but shit, whatever teeth she had left, well they're gone now. What the hell happened?"

"Nicky we can chitchat about this later, need to get her inside, winter's weather isn't a good place to sleep," Alex cuts in on Nicky. She then proceeds to check Piper, quickly assessing the bleeding gash on her hand, "and we need to stitch this up."

Looking down on Piper's hand, Alex spots the shiv used to injure her and a screwdriver with some blood on the snow around it. Enough to tell the story. She quickly picks up the screwdriver and faces Piper.

"Alex, I-I didn't…" but before Piper can finish, Alex cuts in, "Save it, Pipes. Take this with you and do not let anyone see you with it. Self-defence, that shiv has Tucky's prints on it."

Piper simply nods weakly,feeling the adrenaline flush out of bloodstream. She's trembling a little now, from the cold air of winter or the broken feeling she has inside for that outburst or what caused it, why she just couldn't stop, she didn't know. But Alex wraps her hands around her fingers, as the prison sirens sound, a clear sign it was time to go back inside for count. Maybe she's averted this crisis and Alex is right about self-defence but that wasn't what they needed to think about because none of them could have prepared for what was to come…

On this night in the dead of winter.

The siren goes off as they return to open the metal doors.

… … …

Piper could feel the warmth spread through her skin as Alex held her uninjured hand, the gush of winter air had become increasingly cold in the night. The prison alarm ringing away had prompted them to hurry inside, Nicky and Alex on either sides of Pennsatucky, Piper closely behind Alex. A strange eerie feeling had befallen them as they quickly walked through the hall to the dorms hoping to find a CO they could report to and tend to the wounds.

They looked at each other in confusion as they arrived to an empty dorm room. "Count should be in five minutes, where the fuck is everyone?" says Nicky as they laid Pennsatucky on her bed and wonder if this had anything to do with the siren going off.

Like an omen a group inmates come rushing into the dorm _._ Something was wrong, there was a look of shock in the girls faces as they walked, in a rushed manner in complete silence. Lorna Morello, who was in high alert looking out to find Nicky, arrived first and hugs her tightly, a slight panic sinking in.

"Morello, what the fuck's going on? Where did you come from and where are the COs?"

"They're gone, Nic…" Lorna could not finish before her eyes widen in a look of realization as she sees Piper and the bloody mess on her wrist. "Chapman...where did you get that? Oh my god. Are you one of them?" Heads turned to Piper as the group of women now stood behind Lorna. Fear and suspicion etched in their faces.

"What are you talking about? Who are they?" asks Alex as she steps in front of Piper, a little protectively.

"No, child. It is a cut wound," a voice thick with russian accent from the crowd slowly steps forward, looking to have a better view of Piper's wrist, "this may need stitches."

"The meth head attacked her with a shiv claiming to be the angel of god," explained Nicky.

"She is the angel of god," says someone from the group. Nicky and the woman proceeds to argue about the 'meth head crazy Jesus freak/messenger of god'.

"Shut up, you, go and have your little bible study in your little meth head leader's cube. Nicky get a gauze from my bunk and tend to Chapman," commanded Red. Nicky and the woman grunting but doing what they were told.

"Red, can someone please explain to us what the fuck is going on?" Alex speaks up, annoyed at the confusing situation they had landed themselves and no one explaining.

"Zombies Vause. Killed all the COs who tried to fight them off outside."

"Red stop kidding me. That's a one-way ticket to psych and we were just out there."

"You were out? Which door? Did you lock it?"

"Why does it matter if we did? There's nothing there, other that meth head's shiv. Piper can testify. In fact we can go over there to prove it to you." Piper nodded even though she was exhausted, unwilling to part with Alex. The peculiarity of the circumstances prompting her to stick by her side. Alex might have been a ruthless pragmatist but she was reliable in most situations.

… … …

Alex had felt shock and confusion at the genuinely suspicious and apprehensive faces of the crowd of inmates as they looked at the gash on Piper's arm. Alex was naturally a skeptic, she didn't believe in ghosts or spirits. Whatever religion was selling, she wasn't buying. She was, however, a good judge of character. She could smell bullshit a mile awayand they didn't look like they were giving any.

Red had given her an opportunity. In fear of another threat to Piper's life, of what she initially thought was some sort of deadly infection going around, she could prove Piper didn't have it by going outside and showing them the was her ex-girlfriend, broke her heart twice, but she didn't ex-love her, much as she tried her best.

Now as she was walking through the same corridors less than ten minutes ago. _What the fuck were they thinking? Zombies? Who believes in that shit._ Her hand on Piper's and Red following closely behind, Nicky and Lorna behind her, as they neared the metal double doors to the outside. "See there's nothing to worry ab…" she cuts off as her hands open the door to a bloody decay of gore in a human mold smiles at her and her eyes widen in disbelief.

"Vause!"

But she's stuned into inactivity, her mind unable to catch up. With a little jump the undead reaches for her neck with its teeth.

In that split second she hears her name, "Alex!"

Piper flashes before her eyes. Screwdriver in both hands with grey matter now at the end of it. Piper falls backwards, putting too much strength into pulling the screwdriver out of zombie inards.

The adrenaline finally kicks in and Alex quickly kicks the zombie out the door, closes and locks it. She turns towards Piper, still on the floor and breathing heavily. She mutters a quiet _Fuck me_ as she grabs Piper's arms to get her up and squeezes her tight, one hand on Piper's back and the other stroking her hair. Piper hugs her back, thankful for just having both of them alive.

 _A/N: Hi, so I haven't done this in awhile and I was never that good at it in the first place, thus your input would really be helpful. I haven't decided how I'm gonna proceed (if I will proceed even), if I go with different scenarios per chapter or just go with one long plot. This first one is just to establish a premise and give me enough leeway for chapter 2. Let me know what you thought._


	2. Chapter 2

**Dead of Winter**

Crisis 1: Rats in the Kitchen

A week has passed since that altercation with Pennsatucky, nobody's really talked about what happened that night, I still don't understand what happened to me then but I feel something inside changed. Alex, she'd said I always had a temper but it had never felt like that before, it was everything all at once. Anger, power, satisfaction. Then pity, for me or for Tucky I couldn't tell anymore. It was the same when I saw that thing jump for Alex's neck, sometimes I wonder if it's a blessing or a curse but more than these thoughts I'm just grateful she's alive.

My hand has healed but Tucky's face is still a few shades far from healthy. Because of that incident, people now look at me with with a mixture of fear and respect, due partly from that incident but mostly for killing a zombie, or complete scorn. Other than that nothing much had changed, we all still did our regular activities, until today.

… … …

The news we heard from the radio has had us believe that the epidemic that caused all this started as a little more than just a small lab experiment at a local hospital in Delaware that wasn't monitored and spread like forest fire, and the government had now isolated the infected in a few states, and a cure was visible in a week. Although sometimes it felt like being exiled, like a leper back in the day.

We had locked and bolted our doors to whatever materials we could spare, which was of no concern to many, after all these walls had been home to some of us for years. Waiting for when the government would arrive with the cure had given us some hope but with little news from the outside, everyone was becoming more on edge. Provisions wouldn't last forever and everyone was a little hungrier by the day.

Internal affairs had worsen as of late, the four separate dorms had divided the population, the whites, the blacks, the latinas, and the golden girls. Although the relationship amongst these four groups were good, everyone was ready to defend their own and everyone was becoming a little greedy. Arguments within divisions were also frequenting from the sub groups. Pennsatucky's religious group loathed me for what happened to their leader, which was becoming a balancing act to keep the peace.

It became an unspoken precaution to always be with a group, deters the crazies from doing anything that could cause more distrust with the inmates. Strangely, Alex had down right refused to leave my side, even moving my things to her bunk since her old bunky, Leanne, was talking care of Pennsatucky, fearing that I would become a target again, alone or at night. She had always been a little protective and possessive over me but that was before she said I may never come to her, yet these days she had readily come to me. Maybe she had felt indebt for what happened with the zombies. But that didn't mean her forgiveness. Neither of us really wanted to have that conversation, not yet, not with everything going on and it's always good to have another friendly face in these circumstances.

… … …

I was with Alex in the library, reading to pass the time, when the PA system had come alive. Thankfully the prison had batteries and a generator that ran on gas, although that was running low too but it did give us some leeway for food storage and radio news, incase the power ever went out.

"Please gather at the cafeteria, this is not a drill."

Our heads turn to face each other, our eyes meet for a second and I feel my face flush. Somehow she's always been able to do that, and she smirks but as she does her hand extends to mine and she says, "Come on Pipes, I wanna find Nicky and Lorna before we have to deal with whatever's going on."

I smile at her gesture, it's been happening a lot lately, and take her hand. _Maybe there was news of a cure already in effect_ , I thought while walking the halls with Alex. It was a little hopeful but it was better than thinking of the many other alternatives.

We find Nicky and Lorna in the hall outside the rec room, an unfinished game of scrabble visible from the outside. The course of this epidemic had, deadly as it might be, gotten us closer. Apparently, it's threat that makes the heart grow fonder.

We walked towards the gathering area, being the few who arrived first, we found Red immediately, standing by the serving stations. Red continued to take charge of the kitchen and provisions when we were left to fend for ourselves with all the COs gone. She had enough years behind her and a good system to make provisions last for as long as it could.

"Nicky, go to bunk and get my cup of noodles. Mommy's hungry," said Red as we came over.

"Ma, we had lunch an hour ago."

Red starts to stare Nicky down, they look at each other for awhile before Nicky throws up her arms in silent surrender. She turns in understanding and does what she's told.

"Now, Chapman, Vause, Morello," she calls out. We snap to attention, realization shown in mine and Alex's face, the exchange was just to send Nicky away, "follow me."

The four of us gathered in the kitchen, which was quite clean considering this was prison.

"So, what's going on?" asks Lorna.

"There's been a some spoilage," says Red, motioning towards the refrigerator.

"What's that got to do with Nichols?" questions Alex, fidgeting beside me. "That's why she had to 'get noodles' right?" her hands gesturing to air quotations.

"You always were perceptive Vause."

"I like to think so."

"Vause you use to import drugs, you know anything about freons in that department? Because there's a strange lack from where it's suppose to be in my refrigerator."

"You can use it like a drug to mimic...a high," in a quick sudden movement her arms fly out to open the refrigerator. The lack of cool air from the machine is hardly noticeable compared the abysmal stench reeking from rotting meat. "You think Nichols did it?"

The idea of Nicky doing something to jeopardize our survival was unimaginable. Nicky had done some very questionable things when it concerned drugs but she wasn't stupid.

"No," we three let go a collective sigh of relief, "But the others might not think the same."

"So why aren't we telling Nicky?" I ask.

"Because I want to throw suspicion away from her," a pause, then a sigh, "Nicky, would only act more suspicious if she knew."

We all nod in agreement, but that doesn't really solve anything. "Do you know who did it?" it's Lorna who asks this time.

"No, but rats, junkies, there all the same once everyone finds out their guilty."

I cringe a little at the thought of what they might do. It might not even need a verdict, just the threat of it, for the inmates to start making rash decisions. "So you just want us to keep her out of trouble, stir some hate out of her way?" I suggest.

"That's right blondie, long enough for us to figure out who did it," Red starts walking and signals for us to follow, "Now come on, we have bigger problems to deal with."

… … …

Quiet murmurs could be heard as we exited the kitchen to the dining hall. A nervous air could be felt throughout the room.

Mendoza came forward, approaching Red, "So, what's the problem?"

"You three wait for Nicky," and points to an open table, "Mendoza, we'll talk inside, wait for everyone to gather."

We walk to the first empty table nearest the doors and sit down, Alex beside me and Lorna across us, while Red and Mendoza disappear into the kitchen. I can feel my hands begin to sweat as I think about how we're going to survive without the spoiled food. I jolt a little and then relax as Alex slides her hand from my thigh to my knee under the table, feeling my anxiety from my tapping foot and probably etched on my face.

Nicky arrives not long after with a group of women walking behind her, a cup of noodle in hand approaching our table. Lorna motions for her to sit with a small smile.

"Where's ma?" asks Nicky sitting down.

The kitchen doors swing open and out comes Red and Mendoza. Heads turn to their direction, faces inquisitive as to why everyone was summoned here.

"Gather round," Mendoza calls out with a loud voice, a frown on her lips, "we have a problem."

Mendoza and Red proceed to explain about the food spoilage but were vague about how it had spoiled. We needed to figure out how to get more food if we wanted to survive, the first dilemma was that there was no way out of the prison. The COs had taken out more than half the undead the night of the attack they had explained but a horde was still out there and all we had were a few cleaning tools and my screwdriver. We needed to know more about the undead, without a plan we were stuck.

… … …

In order to form a plausible plan that was executable without too much consequence we needed some facts.

Everyone was to form groups and make observations on certain aspects for one day and night cycle. Our table was assigned to figuring out how fast the average zombie could move, see if there were any variations. Other groups had to identify types of zombies if there were any different kinds, activity at night and during the day, and vulnerabilities and weaknesses. I personally had to report in how hard it was to penetrate the zombie's skull with a screwdriver. We were all suppose to exchange notes early tomorrow and devise a plan.

As much one could hate prison, it made a pretty decent fort. The metal railing on the windows were small enough that we could see the outside without having to worry about getting bitten.

Alex and I sat at one end of the windowed rec room, Nicky and Lorna on the other far end.

"It's pretty crazy everything that's happening, huh kid?" she says reaching out to my hand, her fingers tracing circles on my knuckles.

"Yeah, who would have thought. Zombies."

"I thought I would have died from a gunshot from the cartel."

"Who said anything about you dying now?" I look her in the eye then, "You know it's not happening on my watch, Al."

She flashes that signature smirk of her and I think how wonderful it goes with the setting sun's red tint, "Can't go without my fine ass?"

"I've already saved it once," now it's my turn to smirk, "it is however, indeed a fine piece of ass."

She laughs, it's cute and she's trying to hold it in, failing miserably. When she's able to restrain her giggling, you can still see the laughter in her eyes and that makes me smile with her. It hasn't been like this for awhile I realize, as much as we've been together the last week, we haven't talked that much or at least not like this.

"I'm glad we have each other with all this going on kid."

"Me too, Al," she leans in closer, "Me too."

The sun continues to go down and everything fades into a black but our hands and lips find each other naturally, like pieces of a puzzle.

"Really, right now not-lesbians?" Nicky says with a chuckle as she walks behind and proceeds to turn on the lights.

A sudden loud crunch sound resonates the room and a hand reaches out from the rails. I nearly fall from my seat but Alex steadies me, we all stare in horror and relief. We had stayed far enough so no hands could reach us, thank god, I don't want to think about stabbing another zombie skull with my screwdriver.

… … …

We gathered in the morning for breakfast, the only meal we'd be eating for the day. We all gathered our notes and piled together all the information we could make out from yesterday's study and observation.

 _Facts we know of the Undead:_

 _Zombies moved in a relatively slow walking pace with little individual differences._

 _There are currently two known types - the walkers and the crawlers. Crawlers being slightly faster, trading its arms for mobility._

 _Zombies are generally less active at night_

 _Zombies are sensitive to sound and light but generally cannot identify humans by sight._

"So anyone come up with something?" says Nicky crossing her arms looking at the whiteboard the facts were written on.

"Can't we just like lure the zombies outside and close the gates? We can't kill them without weapons," suggests Flaca.

"But you'd be one crazy bitch to volunteer for the job." says Taystee, and the crowd nods in agreement. Concerned that they may be made to be the sacrifice.

"Someone could probably outrun the zombies if they had enough speed and stamina."

"Watson, you a runner right?"

"I sprint, I don't run fucking marathons and I don't wanna have to fight those things. Chapman can run too, less speed but more stamina and she's already killed one of 'em."

Heads turn towards me and Alex steps in, pushing me slightly behind her.

 _A/N: Bit of a cliffhanger I know, sorry but hey, shoutout to the reviewers, deathlyhallow0 and the guest. Opinions are always welcome, would love to hear more of what you guys think._


	3. Chapter 3

**Dead of Winter**

Crisis 2: Snowball Fight

"No fucking way!" Alex protests before I can get a word out.

It's true, Before Piper, the one who didn't go to prison and get attacked by the angel of god, probably wouldn't be able to do it. Everyone assumed I was the nice blonde lady, petite and polite, wouldn't hurt a fly. But the Piper Now could, Alex herself called me out on my temper and I maneuvered us out of becoming zombie chow, proof enough for me. This Piper could be as cold as she needed to be to survive, preferably with Alex. She had nerves of steel and a spine made of iron.

"You wanna go instead, Vause?"

I stepped forward and turned to face Alex then muttering a quiet but firm, _We need to talk._ I glance over to Red and Mendoza behind us and mouth a, _two minutes._

I grab hold of Alex's arm, dragging her out the dining room to the hall. She tugs at the arm I'm holding on to halfway down and I stumble backwards a little from the pull but refuse to let go. She holds up the arm I'm holding on to, chest level, and uses the other to pin me between herself and the wall.

"Piper, we're not arguing about this. You're not dying for these crazy, stupid, fucking bitches." she glares at me as the words come out her mouth.

"Alex," I glare back, which was something uncommon between us and I see her yield for half a second but hold the glare, "what is with you and dying, no one said anything about dying."

"Come on Pipes, even you're not that naive." she looks away and pushes her glasses up her head.

"Look, Al. If we can come up with a pretty solid plan then I'm up for it. I'm not just throwing my life away," I say, hands reaching for her cheek, hoping she looks up, "okay?"

"Piper, I can't lose you. Not again." we lock eyes for a moment before she looks down on the floor.

"You're not, we'll all come up with some good plan. Plus I know this smartass girl. 5'9, long black hair, secretary glasses. You might have seen her around."

Alex giggles a little then and I can't help but smile. But as the laughter dies down, she sighs and looks at me with a serious expression, "I heart you, Piper Chapman, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I know. I heart you too, Alex Vause."

I knew this was just a band-aid, placed there temporarily because we needed to survive from starving out and dying in the cold. Because no matter how much we heart each other, we were far from functional. But we needed this, it grounds us, gives us something to hold onto. However, that didn't mean I meant it any less.

"I need to do the right thing for a change Al." I also needed to protect her, stir some hate away from her already generous supply. But she didn't need to know that.

The dining hall doors open and our heads snap in its direction to find Red marching towards us.

"Two minutes are up, Russians don't like to wait."

I glanced at Alex with concern she might want to argue still, but the look of determination on her face concluded otherwise. Alex Vause was coming up with something.

We burst through the doors, position reversed. Alex in the lead, her hand a tight grip on mine. I, just trying to catch up with her pace.

"I have a plan."

That's my girl.

… … …

The plan Alex came up with wasn't foolproof, I was still relatively in danger but it did deal with the dilemma of getting stuck outside with a horde of zombies at my tail with no way to get back.

The operation would happen at night where the zombies would react to where light was focused. We would turn on all the lights of all the rooms in the first floor where there were windows and let the zombies gather. Then one by one turn off the lights and lure them to a single spot, two rooms from the main door. From there I would lure them towards me and run to the gates and keep them distracted so Janae run to a watch tower with the spot lights, pray they work, and Alex can head for the guard house to operate the gates.

The goal of this operation was to get access to tool, gas, and transportation. The electrical shop had hammers, nails, drills, and materials we could use for barricades. The prison had two vans we could use to head out and look for supplies, possibly a month's worth for everyone. The shed at the back was probably where they kept gas. If this succeeded, we could use the greenhouse to plant vegetables for more food.

Everyone agreed that this was too important, we could not fail this plan, that meant everyone hand to give a little sacrifice. Everyone else, aside from Janae, Alex, and I, only ate breakfast. Alex gave half of her second meal to me.

"Kid you're gonna need the energy both to run and fight of cold out there," she says passing the half eaten sandwich, "eat it before I shove it down your throat."

That's Alex, backhanded concern, but concern none the less and I'll take that any day. So I take the sandwich, eat it, and hope it isn't the last time I do.

In our bunks we prep ourselves for the operation, which was set to start at ten tonight.

"Hey, Al." I call to her while I finish tying my boot laces, my khakis tucked in, so they don't get in the way.

She just continues to stare at the floor, without any response or acknowledgement she heard me, like an answer to a problem would materialize if she looked long enough.

"Alex!" I call out again.

"Yeah?" she says, but she has that look, when she's thinking too hard and she's uncertain about something, just like years ago when she still dealt heroin. I've seen that look one too many times before.

"You okay?"

"You're about to be held for trial for a death sentence, and you're asking me if I'm okay?"

"We've got a pretty good chance with your plan Al, we'll make it but I need you focused."

Nicky calls us to gather at the rec room then. Fifteen more minutes before the operation starts.

I walk over to her and caress her cheek with my thumb and say, "Time to go."

"Okay." she replies with some resolve but her hands still tremble when I take them in mine.

… … …

"Okay, everyone will take position in their designated rooms. Then Mendoza will be in the control room and count from 3 on the PA then we turn on the lights. Someone will be stationed at the room doors to signal for the lights to go off. When the zombies have gathered, Piper will distract and lure them outside and Watson will run for the watchtower and turn on the light to lure them to a distance, then I'll shut the gate when Piper gets back." I listen intently as Alex gives a final briefing, remembering how she was always so good at this.

"Ok let's go!"

Alex looks at me and we lock eyes for a second, I nod then mouth, _That was so hot,_ trying to ease her tension. I don't wait for her response, I know the concern will be visible on her face and I didn't want to think about what she would look like if everything went to shit. This planned needed to work. So, I start walking towards the main doors and muster all the determination I can without looking back. Because looking again felt like a last goodbye and I was hoping for a home coming.

I go to stand in position, armed with a frying pan and a kitchen hammer that Red lent me to make enough noise, my trusty screwdriver in the pocket of my winter coat.

The PA comes on and I hear Mendoza's sharp voice loud and clear as she begins to countdown.

"3...2...1," a short pause, I breathe in shutting my eyes, "lights on!"

I can almost hear the collective clicks of the light switches in the silence of the prison. I start counting in my head, fifteen minutes, before I heard Mendoza over the PA again. I might not be alive in the next fifteen.

"Chapman," my eyes snap open, already adjusted to the dark, "good luck chica, don't die. Go!"

Breathe in.

I steel myself and open the double door.

The thickness of the snow was the first thing I notice, luckily I had tucked in my khakis or it would be even harder to run but this must be slowing down the undead too, I hope.

The moon bright in the night sky but the thick winter fog made visibility low and navigation a little harder.

Hands up with my pan and hammer, I slam them together as the lights of the last room turn off. I bang again, louder. Heads turn, some in ways that wouldn't be possible for the living. _They've noticed you now,_ I think for a moment, my legs start moving from hearing the chorus of moans and groans from the horde now moving towards me and panic begins to rise at the pit of my stomach. Some of them looked like they had uniforms on.

The gates were about 3/4s of a football field, that was relatively easy for a regular jogger like me but the winter with its fog and chill was slowing me down.

Images of zombie brains and blood and drool flashed through my mind and I hesitated to look behind me. With the visibility so low it was hard to tell where the crawlers were, impossible from two doors afar. But pushing aside the images in my head, I willed myself to glance back. Just in time to see a crawler about to jump for a piece of my leg. I twist and with my hammer, slam the zombies head with a Louisville slugger and sent the zombie's head flying like a baseball.

I kept going for the gate and making small noises just to attract the horde inside and no more. I headed for an area with a few trees remembering not to get too far from the prison so Janae could lure them with the light. God, where were they?

I move from tree to tree, making noises in between circling the zombies and hoping I don't get jumped. Then I finally I see a little glow to the left and know instantly that was it. I see it turning towards me, I'm blinded for a second but instinctively jump away from the light, letting go of the pan and hammer, as not to make a sound. I skid from the slush snow and try to get up as fast as I could to run to the gate. If I estimated correctly, it wouldn't be too far, I would be home free to Alex.

As I neared the gate, I could see it was already half close. I run faster, pushing every cell in my body. Barely inside, I saw from the corner of my eye a figure jumping from my left. Crawler.

"Piper!" a scream.

I duck just as zombie teeth would have had my neck but trip at the sudden motion, landing on the snow, a piece of metal on my shoulder. I realize it was a gun, buried half way through the snow. I pick it up as I tried get my feet to function but the zombie was too fast. I pointed the gun towards its mouth and before my mind had even registered the uniform and dark brunette hair. I had pulled the trigger.

… … …

The gates closed with a click and I could hear Alex shouting my name but my mind had clouded. Fischer. I wanted to cry but my body was too exhausted and I simply fell backwards.

Breath out.

 _A/N: hey thanks to the reviewers_ _ **Skye9598**_ _and_ _ **luveverythingtv.**_ _Piper said yes but I could never stand a passive Alex so she had to be part of the plan. Hope to hear more from yoy guys._


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